The Nelson Rowing Club U15 quad crew in action at the 2022 South Island Championships at Lake Ruataniwha.
It was a regatta like no other – wristbands and lanyards had to be shown to gain entry, spectators were not allowed, and teams were in 100-person zones separate from the other zones and spanning the length of Lake Ruataniwha in Twizel were distributed.
This was a race in the red – a new way to compete under the Covid traffic light system.
But the new regatta conditions on January 29th and 30th didn’t deter Nelson Rowing Club crews, who returned home with a final medal tally of two gold, seven silver and five bronze. This tally would no doubt have been higher had the regatta not been marred by bad weather and abandoned before all the finals could be completed.
But nobody complained. Head Coach Tim Babbage said the organizers of the South Island Rowing regatta had done a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure the rowers could compete this weekend.
CONTINUE READING:
* Students win gold and win national titles in rowing championships
* Despite the delay, a golden week for Nelson rowers
* Four gold medals for Nelson rowers at the South Island Champions
“Overall the weekend was a great success and our crews look forward to returning to Twizel for the Rocket Foods NZ Rowing Champs in February.”
Standout rowers of the weekend were Nicole Campbell and Macy Kappely, who won gold in the Womens Premier Coxless Pair Oars and then joined Lucy Munro and Maddie Collis to take silver in the Womens Premier Coxless Quad Sculls.
Nicole also took another silver by making it solo in the Womens Premier Single Sculls. Fern Backhouse-Smith and Hollie John took third place for the bronze medal in the U/15 doubles sculls.
In the boys, veteran rowers Ollie Ransom and Rico Fraser won bronzes at the Premier Coxless Pair Oars, and the men’s intermediate crew of Freddy Griffiths, Jaxon Taylor, Michael Jones, Ollie Spiers and Cox Charlie Parker won silvers at the Coxed Quad Sculls .
The club’s champion rowers put in an excellent regatta, winning one gold, four silver and five bronze medals.
Tony Crosbie and Colin Brown won silvers in the Mens Masters Double Sculls, teamed with Grant Wilson and Brent Smith to win another silver in the Mens Masters Quad Sculls, and won gold with Kim Kubala and Yvanca Clarisse to win the mixed Win Masters Quad Skulls.
Tony took his fourth medal of the regatta by winning the bronze medal in the Mixed Masters Double Sculls with Kim Kubala, and Kim won her third medal of the regatta by teaming with Marnie Brown to win the bronze medal in the Womens Masters Double Sculls. In the same event, Yvanca Clarisse and Erin McNary won silver.
The club’s senior collegiate and club rowers are now training hard to prepare for the national championships, which have been moved from Karapiro to Lake Ruataniwha to allow the regatta to take place under the red light frame. The regatta will take place from February 14th to 18th.
The Nelson Rowing Club always welcomes new members. So if you are interested in trying rowing (regardless of age or ability) contact the club’s administrator at [email protected] for more information.
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